Art and Design Commons^™

Consumer Response To Green Brands Vs. Traditional Brands On Digital Platforms: An Analysis Through A Series Of Case Studies, Madison Busick

Honors Scholar Theses

In the age of environmental crisis, consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their decisions. Accordingly, many companies seek to provide more eco-friendly and sustainable products while building their brand around these values. Consumers also are increasingly using and engaging on social media and other digital platforms. But just how well do these "green" brands do in the digital space? This study aims to compare differences between brands that embody environmentalist values and traditional brands with a variety of case studies across several consumer goods segments including clothing, cosmetics, and technology. The data is collected from a variety …

User Research And Real User Problems: Improving The User Experience Of Online Shopping, Lauren Ciulla

Honors Scholar Theses

“User Research and Real User Problems: Improving the User Experience of Online Shopping” is a creative thesis project that incorporates user research, user experience design, and coding skills. The first phase of the project consisted of market research and generative user research to develop a plan for a shopping companion app. The findings of this research shaped the scope of the project according to user needs and established the basis of a plan to create a progressive web application and Google Chrome browser extension that will respond to specific user problems. These tools would solve three key user problems: users …

Watching Grass Grow: How Soil Moisture Affects Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizae And Growth In Little Bluestem, Laura M. Jones

Honors Scholar Theses

Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) are an ancient mutualism in which soil-dwelling fungi enhance plant absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen in exchange for photosynthates. VAM are sensitive to changes in soil moisture and nutrient content, fluctuating between mutualism and parasitism depending on conditions of drought stress and nutrient deficiency. Understanding how VAM respond to precipitation changes is crucial for both conservation and agricultural purposes. To test how soil moisture changes the effects of VAM colonization and growth in little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), a common prairie grass, I planted 300 seeds in a greenhouse in sterilized soil and soil inoculated with …

Wrack Lines Volume 19, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2019, Nancy Balcom, Syma Ebbin, David Gregorio, Richard Telford, Judy Benson

Wrack Lines

Issue theme is: "Making Connections: As the Climate Changes, People and Nature Intertwine in New Ways." Articles include: "As More Roads Become Rivers, Communities Search for Solutions;" "Solving an Engineering Conundrum: As Coastal Homes Get Elevated, New Research Looks at Whether Vulnerability to Wind Damage Is Increasing;" "Along the Coast, Residents Consider How to Heed Sandy's Warning of What's to Come;" "All Rivers, All Lives Run to the Sea," about the intersection of waterways and the world of nature writer Edwin Way Teale; and "Crosscurrents: Connecticut Sea Grant's Retrospective Exhibition Makes Waves," about reaching new audiences and building bridges with …

Out Of Sight, Mei G. Buzzell

University Scholar Projects

Out of Sight, reveals the reality of the service industry that is often camouflaged from the front of the house. Over a two year period, my discoveries are the happenings of what transpires within communities that is repeated day and night all over this country. Only the text of my thesis book is displayed, the images can be found at my website at, meibuzzell.com.

Painting Down, Claire Stankus

MFA Statements

No abstract provided.

Here's What I Know, Kelsey Miller

MFA Statements

INTRODUCTION

Now, at the end of three years of graduate school, is a time for reflection—and a time to piece together a narrative of how I got to now. In our first semester here, we were given an assignment in a drawing class to gather pictures, text, and objects that informed or inspired our studio practice, a Collectanea. At the end of that semester, we documented and compiled our collection into a photo book—an atlas of our thoughts and observations. That book became the bones of the work I have made over these last three years. New thoughts and …

The Alchemical Vessel, River Soma

MFA Statements

My work comes from a place of deep feeling on a bodily level. Amidst the decorative play, there is a sense of the primitive and primordial, and also a certain humanity and clumsiness through struggle. Through the hermetic tradition I relate the alchemical vessel and its symbolic process of interior development to my artistic practice. Focusing in mixed media sculpture, I discovered a concentrated accumulation of symbolism specific to my practice, but also the full recognition of my practice as a ritualized psychological undertaking.

Creative Micro-Entrepreneurship In Practice: Exploring Digital Tools For Small Creative Businesses, Olivia Messina

Honors Scholar Theses

For the scope of this thesis, my focus is on independently owned businesses

run by “creative micro-entrepreneurs.” I’m using this term, coined by the digital

selling platform Etsy, to encompass artists, craftspeople, and others who sell artistic

goods and services they have made themselves. In addition to being part of this

community personally, I also think that it is important for these small businesses to

have the resources they need to thrive in our rapidly changing economy. Selling

online, clothing & accessories businesses, and cooking & baking businesses are

among the top 5 “side hustles” for Millennials, making creative small …

“Lately, I’Ve Been Feeling Distraught” Self And Fear, Jelena Prljevic

MFA Statements

No abstract provided.

Studying Light And Color In Tuscany, Marissa Stanton

Honors Scholar Theses

I will conduct research about color, light, and atmosphere in a series of realistic landscape paintings. I will also write poetry and prose to narrate how I respond to my environment, and to reflect upon my work and how it is developing in that atmosphere. I will visit both Renaissance and contemporary museums and galleries. This will help me to learn more about the pluralistic culture in Italy, and how the dialogue between the old masters and new thinkers might function in my own work. Afterward, I will continue to develop my research by creating a final series of paintings …

Pollataggle: An Exhibition And Photo Book, Kaitrin R. Acuna

University Scholar Projects

Pollataggle is a series of photographs by Kaitrin Acuna that explores childlike imagination and the unreal. The imagery may be viewed at KaitrinAcuna.com and the following is a reflection on the process and outcome of creating the series. This paper reflects on the process of photographing each component of the final images, the inspiration, the process in Photoshop, and the exhibition of the work.

Design, Programming, And User-Experience, Kaila G. Manca

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis is a culmination of my individualized major in Human-Computer Interaction. As such, it showcases my knowledge of design, computer engineering, user-experience research, and puts into practice my background in psychology, com- munications, and neuroscience.

I provided full-service design and development for a web application to be used by the Digital Media and Design Department and their students.This process involved several iterations of user-experience research, testing, concepting, branding and strategy, ideation, and design. It lead to two products.

The first product is full-scale development and optimization of the web appli- cation.The web application adheres to best practices. It was …

Canvassing Generations: Art Through Postmemory, Julianne Norton

Holster Scholar Projects

Investigated the legitimacy if postmemory, its relationship with art, and completed a creative project addressing the four generations of artists leading to the Norton family. What is postmemory? How does artwork allow for the conceptualization of memory? The research supported the existence of postmemory and led to an increased understanding, analyzing, and recreation of artwork from each of the previous four generations. This artwork served as a tangible form of my own postmemory.

Sculpting Sound And Painting Music: A Study, Documentary, And Art Exhibition, Kaitrin R. Acuna

Holster Scholar Projects

Synesthesia, often referred to as a blending of the senses, is known for its involuntary and automatic perceptual responses. Generally, synesthetic perception is known to be quite varied, both in the types of synesthesia and in the perceptions amongst individuals within each of these types. Despite this, a few commonalities have been located in populations of color-grapheme synesthetes, those who perceive letters and numbers with colors. We aimed to similarly locate potential commonalities in the perceptions of a population of colored-hearing synesthetes, those who have visual responses with auditory stimulation.

Five Children's Book Covers Employing Illustrative Type, Rochelle Lynn Baross

Honors Scholar Theses

A colelction of five children's books created digitially and employing illustrative type.

Celios Fate, Jennifer Allen

Honors Scholar Theses

The story is about Celios, who are a group of people with special powers that live in an alternate dimension to Earth. A tragedy occurs in their dimension and they must travel to Earth to find someone who can save them. A group of Celios run into the main character Shaun, and believe he might be able to help. However, not all of the Celios looking for Shaun have pure intentions.

Endless Yarns: Interdisciplinary Creative Work In Text And Textile, Louisa Owen Sonstroem

Honors Scholar Theses

In this thesis I explore the relationship between text and textile. What is it that connects them? I engage this question from an aesthetic perspective, through process as much as through theory. The thesis project consists of three components: creative text pieces, creative textile pieces, and an essay that attempts to deal with the questions which arose during my creative process.